


Voltron: The Next Generation

by MiraculousLadyNoir



Series: The Big 4: Voltron [2]
Category: Big Hero 6 (2014), Brave (2012), Frozen (US 2010), How to Train Your Dragon (Movies), Rise of the Guardians (2012)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-18
Updated: 2021-01-28
Packaged: 2021-03-09 22:35:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 11,035
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27623477
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MiraculousLadyNoir/pseuds/MiraculousLadyNoir
Summary: Three people from different worlds reunite with their mysterious winter friend from childhood. It's time for them to answer a call they may not be ready for. War is brewing and Voltron needs paladins.
Series: The Big 4: Voltron [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2019617
Comments: 2
Kudos: 6





	1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1 

The sun poured down onto the bright city of San Fransokyo. An upbeat tune played on the street speakers, adding rhythm to the bustle of everyday life. 

Cars honked.

People talked in various languages.

Children yelled in play.

Pigeons cooed.

Buses screeched.

Phones rang and tram bells jingled; the cacophony of city life. 

Car fumes and flowers permeated the air while coffee and the heavy scent of baked goods scented an area just down the street from the nearby college, battling with the start of pizza and ramen as breakfast faded away and lunch began to roll around. 

Hands wrapped around a hot coffee and a bagged bagel from his Aunt’s bakery, Tadashi Hamada strode up the steps that led to his college. He loved this place, the car fumes faded up here, replaced for a moment by food and cherry blossoms but then everything gave way to the sensation of invention.

Here, Dreams were built in the real world. 

A cool breeze rolled by, reminding him that fall was here and winter not too far away. He would have to make a choice then, a choice that seemed easy but, for some reason, wasn’t. But he didn’t want to think of that now, today was going to be a great day. 

He strode whistling through the open doors and to the main lab. 

“Morning Tadashi!” Honey bumped his shoulder in an attempt to imitate a hug despite her arms being overloaded with books, notes, and various charts. 

“Morning Honey.” He returned the gesture and guided her forward several steps as Gogo rushed by, dragging a massive metal cutter behind her.

“Morning!” Gogo bellowed. 

“Morning! Ooo, that looks exciting!” Honey exclaimed, chasing after the girl. 

Tadashi chuckled and moved on, waving to Wasabi who was fine-tuning his project with light fingers and extreme focus. Fred waved back from behind him and then went back to telling Wasabi his latest story. 

At the end of the room, Tadashi entered his own personal lab and paused in the middle. He took a sip of coffee, savoring the taste of success. Then he gasped and exclaimed, quietly, “Ow!”

Instantly the small red box at the other end of the room activated and out came Baymax, slowly inflating to the proper marshmallow form. The pillowy robot waddled forward. “Hello, I am Baymax, your personal healthcare assistant. How may I be of service?” 

Tadashi clapped him on the shoulder and felt a giddy rush of pride. “Soon, I’m going to finish that card, and then you’ll really be able to help people.” He paused for a moment, simply looking at the marvel that Baymax was. He was a masterpiece, even Hiro would be impressed. “Soon. Alright Baymax, I am satisfied with my care.”

The robot nodded, waddled back to his case, and deflated till the box closed. 

Tadashi took a deep breath, another sip of coffee, and then sighed happily. He dropped into the chair, pulled up the computer program, and began working on his coding again. Coding medical procedures and knowledge was the most tedious work he had ever done but it was all going to be worth it in the end. 

Dusk came before he was ready. The college never really closed as Professor Calhoun was a firm believer in Midnight Madness, the strokes of genius that comes from sleep deprivation. Even so, when the timer went off on Tadashi’s phone, he forced himself to save and exit his work, clean up his space, and head home. 

The city was even busier with the rush hour traffic that clogged the roads and paved the sidewalks. Tadashi waited until he was closer to home to catch a tram, in the little downtown areas, closer to the suburbs and further from the heart of the city, the roads and walks were clearer and easier to travel. 

Tadashi watched the sun as it started to dip slowly behind the skyline, bathing the world in rose-gold light. 

“Aunt Cas! Hiro! I’m home!” He called as the bell announced his entrance to the shop. 

“Welcome back Tadashi!” Aunt Cass called from their dining room in the back where amazing aromas were coming from. 

Tadashi found her setting the table and gave her a passing hug before hurrying upstairs to drop off his bags and find his brother. Their shared attic space was deserted though. Tadashi looked around, hoping to find the small boy lounging around somewhere and feeling a mix of relief and concern at not seeing him.

“Hey, where’s Hiro?” He asked coming back down the stairs. 

“He went out.” Aunt Cass replied cheerily as she brought food to the table. 

“Where?”

“I don’t know, he didn’t say, just ran out the door, you know what he’s like!” She laughed, shook her head, and gestured. “He said he’d be back by dinner, we can go ahead and sit.” 

Tadashi joined her and they talked about their day, the latest episode of different shows, sales in the bakery, and baking recipes. 

When they ran out of things to kill time with, they sat in silence, watching the food grow cold and silently worrying. 

At last, Tadashi swallowed his concerns and pulled the lid off the casserole. “We should eat.”

“Right...” Aunt Cass still looked worried but Tadashi set her at ease, laughing and talking until dinner was over. Then he told her he would wait up for Hiro since he’d be studying anyway, kissed her cheek, and watched her head to bed. 

Then he walked upstairs like he always did and promptly ransacked the room until he found the flyer.

A bot fight.

Walking distance away.

That idiot! 

He tiptoed downstairs and outside, pulled his moped away from the building, then jumped on and sped off, following the directions. 

He was two streets away when he saw the small, dark figure thrown up against an alley while three hulking shapes descended on him. 

Terrified, he swerved into them, blocking the kid from the giants. “Hiro, get on!” He shouted. 

“Tadashi!” Fear turned to relief and excitement as Hiro hopped up behind him. “Oh, good timing!”

Tadashi didn’t bother answering as he slapped a helmet on the kid’s head and drove off. The thugs were ganging up on them now. 

“Are you ok?” Tadashi asked, still unable to stop worrying. 

“Yes.” Hiro was moving around, trying to see behind him. 

“Are you hurt?”

“No, I’m fine.” Tadashi could practically hear the eye-roll. 

“Then what were you thinking, knucklehead!” He punctuated each word with a smack of frustration.

They reached a dead end and Tadashi swerved sharply, turning them back the way they had come. “You graduated high school at 13 and this is what you do with your...” He was cut off by an angry shout from up ahead as the thugs saw their return. “Hold on!” He ordered before skidding to the side and shooting them over a ramp made of crates. He gritted his teeth as they soared for a brief moment and then landed roughly. The wheels immediately spun into action and shot them forward. Once safely on the ground and moving again, he continued his lecture. “Bot fighting is illegal! You’re gonna get yourself arrested!”

“Bot fighting is not illegal!” Hiro protested matter-of-factly. “Betting on bot fighting? That...that’s illegal but so lucrative!” He leaned casually on his older brother’s shoulders ignoring the scowls and disapproving head-shakes. “I’m on a roll big brother.” He waved a wad of cash proudly and threw his hands in the air. “And there is no stopping me!”

They came out of the alley and Tadashi pulled up sharply to avoid running into the several police cars that had blocked them off. 

“Halt!” One man in uniform yelled. 

Both boys groaned. 

Tadashi glared at Hiro through the bars of the overcrowded cell.

How dare that idiot do this again!

Not only was he ruing his own potential but he was also torturing their Aunt, after everything she had done for them.

And now, on top of everything else, she would have to pay bail. 

After a severe scolding Aunt Cas left them to their sleep. Unfortunately, Hiro had no intention. Tadashi knew his younger sibling’s plans from the look on his face. A brief sense of hopelessness invaded him. He was trying so hard to reach Hiro but the boy was constantly pushing him away. While their relationship had never had any major issues Hiro was drifting further from him with every passing year, apathetically ignoring him and Aunt Cas in favor of bot fights and easy money.

He was trying to find himself and Tadashi recognized the same struggle he had gone through to find an identity without parents to rely on. What had helped him?

In a last-ditch effort, he offered to give Hiro a ride to the next fight. 

The boy complained and protested when they instead pulled into his college, “nerd school” as Hiro had termed it. 

But he watched the boy’s face as they walked through the lab where everyone was working.

He saw the gears turning in that genius head as each invention and project sparked understanding and curiosity. 

He knew Hiro could have created everything in that room with a little guidance, it was getting him to care enough to listen that was hard. 

And they came to the lab.

Sucking in a deep breath without letting Hiro see, he slapped some duck tape on the boy and then ripped it up, experiencing the same thrill he had felt the first time Baymax had inflated. 

He stood back and watched, hoping desperately to reach Hiro here. “I wasn’t planning on showing him off till he was finished but...I figured we might as well while we’re here.”

Fate was on his side.

As they started to leave, they ran into Callahan himself. Tadashi could not have asked for more.

He silently prayed as they left the building, watching Hiro process everything he had just seen. 

“I have to go here!” The boy exclaimed at the bottom of the stairs. 

Tadashi grinned, knowing he had won. 

He was so relieved he didn’t feel the icy breeze that blew softly by, an unnoticed reminder. 


	2. Chapter 2

Back at home, Hiro went to bed after talking more to his older brother than he had in over a year.   
Tadashi reveled in success as he lay in bed, staring out the open window.   
A dark figure appeared in the distance, he didn’t notice it at first, but it slowly came closer and as he saw it for what it was he got up and closed the door that separated his section of the attic from Hiro’s.   
“Yo, Tadashi!” The boy on the windowsill greeted him with an easy grin. “How you doing?”  
Tadashi shook his head. “I’ve made up my mind, Jack. I’m done with this. I have too much here to get tangled up in all your stories...”  
“They’re not stories, Tadashi. Please listen,” the boy's voice took on that pleading tone that was hard to ignore. “They’re almost here, a couple weeks at best, joining me is the only hope you have of protecting Hiro and your Aunt.”  
“From the aliens? Really, Jack, I don’t know what to think about all this but between my work and Hiro...I’ve finally got him, Jack. I just...I've finally got him using his brain and off the streets. I can’t leave him now.” Tadashi shook his head. “I’m sorry.”  
Jack smiled softly, almost painfully. “I understand.” He glanced around and then back at Tadashi. “I just hope it all works out for you.”  
Tadashi only had time to nod before Jack stepped back out the window and was lost to the breeze. A strange sense of loss tugged at him as he watched the strange boy go. 

~~~~~~

When their parents died, Tadashi and his baby brother were moved to a new city to live with their Aunt Cas. Hiro cried a lot and Tadashi drowned in a void of loneliness.   
He was bullied the first year he started school, relentlessly abused by a few and neglected by most. The void in his life grew and grew until he had nothing left to stand on.   
And then winter came, and with it came snow. And with the snow came the mysterious teen in worn pants and bare feet, a frost-covered hoodie his only attempt to ward off the cold. He was everywhere at once, starting snowball fights and sledding escapades. All the children crowded around him but...none of them ever seemed to see him. He would leave every game with this look of satisfaction and frustration. Tadashi understood that look. He used to stand and watch the other boy every day when he passed by the park.   
One day, the boy hadn’t been in the park. Tadashi looked for him but the place was empty. He felt like he had lost something precious again as he wondered if the boy was gone.   
A snowball exploded on the back of his head.   
“Hey, Tadashi, right? Do you like snowballs?”  
Slowly, he turned to see the teen standing behind him grinning widely.   
“You can see me, can’t you?”  
Dumbly, the boy nodded, awed that this enigma of fun was talking to him.   
The teen tossed a snowball back and forth in his hands and his grin glowed with excitement. “I’m Jack, Jack Frost.”

At the time, it had seemed perfectly normal for Jack to fly, make snow, and be invisible to most people, almost fitting for Tadashi’s friend. But as he grew older he began to question these things. Jack came every winter and Tadashi was never sure if he brought the snow or the snow brought Jack but with every first snow, he was there. The real question though was where he went in afterward.   
At last, he asked Jack who and what he was and where he went every year.   
Jack hesitated to answer for a long time before responding.   
“A long time ago,” he started as though unsure of himself. “There was a world name Aight and in that world, there was a kingdom named Corona, it means light. It was a mostly good place. I grew up there with my little sister. And in Corona, Voltron was made. Voltron was an amazing machine made of four metal lions. They flew, and fought and came together to make one giant hero. Voltron fought in the wars in space and brought peace to the universe. But then, one day, a star fell out of the sky and it brought with it Pitch. Pitch was a monster who destroyed the Prince of Corona and destroyed the world. Voltron wasn’t ready and couldn’t stop him.” Jack’s face twisted a little as though he was in pain. “He’s been conquering and destroying worlds for centuries now. And he won’t stop unless Voltron comes again.”  
“Will...Pitch come here one day?” Tadashi asked doubtfully.   
Jack nodded. “One day.”  
“Soon?”  
Jack hesitated before shrugging noncommittally. “Maybe.”  
There was a long pause as the boy thought this all over. Finally, he looked Jack in the eye. “What was your sister’s name?”  
Jack didn’t seem prepared for this. He had been crouched on the top of his staff, an impossible balancing feat he enjoyed, but he sank to the ground at the question. “Prudence. I called her Pippa.”  
Tadashi nodded. “I have to take care of Hiro. Will Voltron protect us?”  
Jack’s eyes misted a little bit he nodded. “I’m sure it will, Tadashi. I’ll make sure of it.” Sucking in a deep breath, Jack shook himself and his grin returned as he leaped back onto his staff. “Maybe I’ll even make you a paladin!”  
Tadashi grinned at the joke. 

But Jack hadn’t been joking. Last year he had come in the middle of summer, Something he never did, and informed Tadashi that Pitch was near. He asked him to be a Paladin and fight for the universe.   
Tadashi was never sure how much of this story he believed but when Jack asked him for his aid he realized he had, for a long time, secretly dreamed about being a paladin. There was a childish hope to see the stars and experience the sensation of living one of Jack’s stories.   
He’d promised to think about it, and he had, it was all he had thought about for a year.   
But he had always known that he could never accept. There was no way he could abandon his family. So imminent danger or not, he turned Jack down and prayed that wouldn’t be the end of their friendship. 

~~~~~~~~

Weeks passed and Tadashi became absorbed with helping Hiro discover and build his project for the science fair that would win him entrance into the college. Life was an ever-building tension of anticipation.   
And finally, the day was there.   
He wouldn’t let it show but Tadashi was almost as nervous as Hiro. He had ultimate faith in his kid brother but what if something went wrong?  
On stage, Hiro looked so small and lost. His eyes sought Tadashi’s.   
Sucking in air he didn’t have, Tadashi mouthed for him to breathe.   
Hiro focused back on the crowd and began to talk.   
It was magic.   
That spiky-haired little knucklehead blew them away. And when he pulled out his bots...there was no competition left.   
Callahan met them behind the stage. Hiro was in.   
Honey, one of the girls from the college, called for a celebration and the group chatted eagerly as they headed out, Aunt Cas declaring the party at the bakery.   
Tadashi grinned and slipped away. The whole ordeal had been so hard but so worth it. Standing by the railing outside he took a deep breath and allowed himself a moment to wish their parents had seen.   
Hiro found him there a couple minutes later, in full bragging mode, ridiculously proud of himself.   
As his older brother, Tadashi took it upon himself to humble the squirt by telling him his tie had been down the whole time. This grounded him a little better.   
They talked and laughed, for the first time in a long time. The cool night air held a sense of expectancy but also of finally arriving. A beginning and an end. It was a good feeling.   
The explosion was the first thing that told them something was wrong.   
The screams came next.   
Tadashi shared a glance with Hiro before his body took action and he was running for the college.   
He was probably the only person who saw the small plane like object dart in the burning building through a hole in the roof. His heart pumped furiously as his mind whirled with stories he had been told as a boy by a teen who was frozen in time.   
“Tadashi, no!”   
He pulled up abruptly as Hiro caught his arm, his face looking very small in the flickering firelight.   
Tadashi searched his brother’s face desperately before saying the only thing that came to mind. “Someone has to help.” He pulled free and ran inside.   
He had no idea what he planning to do but he knew that plane, and whoever was inside, needed to be stopped.   
He was halfway through the building when he heard it groan.   
The roof collapsed around him, burning flakes showering down along with the rubble.   
He shouted and ducked.   
There was a crash but it didn’t touch him. Glancing up, he saw his friend standing over him and Jack didn’t look so much like a child as he had recently.   
“Are you ok?” Jack asked in concern as he sent the frozen rubble sailing safely away.   
“Yeah...thanks.” Tadashi stood up slowly. “Jack, there was a plane...”  
“I know. You should leave.”  
“But...are they...”  
“They’re the Galra, a race ruled by Pitch. They’re here.”  
He didn’t have to say anything else. Tadashi knew why they were there. To destroy his planet, his family, Hiro.   
“Let me help, Jack.”  
The boy shook his head. “You can’t. There’s nothing you can do.”  
“But...but Voltron...”   
“We don’t have any Paladins.”   
Tadashi’s face hardened. “I’ll do it.”  
Jack shook his head again. “You don’t understand. You can’t just fly them once and done like a plane. Flying with Voltron requires a bond and a commitment. If you agree to fly with Voltron, you agree to see this whole thing through to the end.”  
Tadashi’s stomach dropped at the idea of leaving Hiro.   
Jack clapped a hand on his shoulder. “Go home. I’ll find someone, I promise.” But there was fear in his eyes.   
Somebody had to help.   
“I’ll do it.”  
“Tadashi...”  
“I understand Jack but it’s this or I watch my planet be invaded...or worse. I’ll fly Voltron, just tell me what to do.”  
Jack searched his face a moment more before grinning slowly. He handed Tadashi a small map. “The Lion is marked on there. I brought it a while back. I think you two will get along.”  
Tadashi took the paper and left at a run. He found his bike out back and took off.   
The map took him to an old garage in a storage lot.   
He punched in the code on the map and the door slid open, revealing a giant mechanical lion. The Yellow Lion of Voltron. A wave of childhood memories threatened to take over but he didn’t let it.   
He stepped forward and the beast moved of its own accord, opening its mouth to let him in.   
The moment he sat down he understood what Jack had meant there was a bond, a commitment, made in that moment. And that’s why he was able to grasp the handles and how he knew to pull them close to take off.   
The Lion spoke directions and he followed them, soaring through the sky and back to the burning building.   
He found Jack fighting off the enemy plane and took a shot at it.   
The first missed but the quick follow-up shattered the aircraft.   
He cheered.   
Jack mopped his brow and grinned before soaring up to join him. “We should go.” He instructed once inside. “The fire trucks are almost here.”  
Tadashi pulled them out.   
Once they were well away he set them to hover. “What should I tell Hiro?”  
“If you go back, they’ll want to know how you got out. We need to keep Voltron a secret right now. You can’t mention Voltron.”  
“But I still need to go back, I don’t want him or Aunt Cas to worry.”  
Jack shrugged. “Your call. But you also have to explain why you’re leaving.”  
Tadashi’s heart sank at the thought. He wasn’t sure he could face them. Aunt Cas would never allow it. And Hiro would probably find a way to track him. He couldn’t drag them into this. 

A letter was dropped off at one in the morning right before an unidentified aircraft left the atmosphere.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

The sun wasn’t shining on the Isle of Berk, but that was normal. 

Hiccup was sitting alone, watching the dense sea of clouds roll over each other, his ears still ringing with last night’s lecture from his father, but that was normal too. 

Toothless, the Night Fury, nuzzled him with a worried whine. 

Absently, Hiccup patted the dragon’s head, looking up into the clouds. His father had left that morning on another cruise in search of the dragon’s nest, taking most of the village with him. And Hiccup has started lessons today, dragon-fighting lessons. Which weren’t lessons so much as survival sessions. He didn’t know if he’d make it to see his Dad return from his voyage. Stoik, chief of the Vikings, would probably be a little disappointed and mostly relieved. The idea of his father’s reaction to his untimely death, though not new, provoked the morose realization that, should he vanish from Berk, there was no one who would care. Oh, plenty would notice, after all he wouldn’t be there to accidentally stumble through all of their tough plans and missions, making life infinitely harder. He wouldn’t be there to leave trails of destruction in his wake. He wouldn’t be there and, to be honest, the majority of the village would like that. Including his father. Hiccup had learned from a young age that, when things got hard, things he couldn’t punch, Stoic ran away. He had used the quest of the dragon’s nest anytime he needed to escape Hiccup. It all started, the really deep dragon hate, after his Mom has died. Since then, Stoic had lived to kill dragons. Taking care of Hiccup was a rather inconvenient duty he also took care of along with the rest of the village. 

It had been a long time since Stoic had gone in search of the nest. Hiccup had even started to hope the tense distance between himself and his father was getting better... and then he shot a night fury, burned down half the village, and lost most of the flock to dragons. Needless to say, things didn’t go too well and now his dad was gone, again. 

Hiccup opened his hand and looked at the snowflake he held in his palm. The thing was I’ve, but it was magic too. It hadn’t melted for well over a month and had managed to survive Hiccup, unlike most objects.

He remembered Jack’s words when he gave it to him. 

_“I think you’d make a great Paladin, Hiccup.”_

_Hiccup shrugged, he disagreed that he could ever do anything that big. He needed to start small, kill a dragon, finally earn some of his father’s respect, then, maybe, just maybe, he could consider being a paladin._

_“Come on! What have you got to lose?” Jack bounced in the air eagerly, crouching on a rock overhead._

_Hiccup’s insides went cold at the thought. “I...I can’t leave Berk. It’s all I’ve ever known. And my Dad...” He shook his head again._

_When he looked up, he found Jack watching him sadly. “Well...think about it.” Jack stood. “I have to go now, I‘ve got some other people I need to meet.” He hesitated a moment and then swirled his hand through the air, trailing and condensing shimmering snow into a flake. “If you change your mind, or ever need help, just throw this in the air. I’ll come.”_

_Hiccup took it in his hands, it was cold to the touch but it made him feel warm somehow. He smiled at Jack. “Thanks.”_

_Jack saluted cheekily and rocketed off into the sky._

_Hiccup’s heart ached to see him go. He wished he could fly, could leave Berk, could go somewhere and do great things._

Jack had been his only friend from childhood, a mysterious person, maybe even a god, who only Hiccup could see. Astrid and her gang made fun of him, but Jack had been there for him through thick and thin, especially after his mom had died. Jack had been his only friend until Toothless. Hiccup wondered if he was completely unable to make normal, human friends. 

Hiccup stared at the flake and thought about throwing it in the air and asking Jack to take him somewhere, anywhere, away from Berk. But, whenever he thought about it, he remembered Jack’s face when he turned him down. He had disappointed Jack, he was always disappointing people. He knew he didn’t have what it took to be a Paladin from Jack’s stories, he could never accept the position. But he couldn’t call Jack just to let him down again. 

“Maybe, one day, you’ll take me somewhere buddy.” Hiccup scratched Toothless in his favorite spot and laugh as the dragon flopped happily to the ground at his feet. 


	4. Chapter 4

Days, then weeks, passed. The more Hiccup actually learned about Toothless the better he succeeded in class. It was a little cool but mostly terrifying. People were watching him now and Astrid...oh boy, Astrid was out for his blood. 

And then it happened.

He was picked.

To kill a dragon.

And his Dad glowed with pride.

Only, Hiccup had never even fought a dragon and had no intention of killing one. 

“That’s it! We’re leaving! Let’s pack up!” He announced as he entered the clearing where he kept Toothless. He hesitated a moment and then pulled Jack’s snowflake out of the pouch at his side where he always kept it. With a deep breath, he let it loose, knowing Jack was the only other person who could help him now. “Looks like you and me are taking a little vacation...forever.” He sighed as he dropped his basket of fish, his mind running over the millions of things he wished he had or hadn’t done, things he did and didn’t need to do, and tried to ignore how much he wished Jack would make one of his miraculous appearances right about now. 

He stood up, still lost in mental calculations, and heard the sound of a blade against rock, a sudden icy noise that made him jump. What was even worse was that he found Astrid sitting above him, holding the blade. His yell petered into something that eventually became words. “Ah...wha...what are you doing here?”

“I want to know what’s going on.” Her response was simple, almost cheery. She finally seemed satisfied with her ax and looked at him. “No one just gets as good as you do. Especially you.” She leaped down and advanced on him. “Start talking. Are you training with someone?” 

Hiccup’s mind decided now was a good time to learn somersaults and left him stuttering for words against her barrage. “Ah...er...ah...training...I didn’t...et...”

“It better not involve this!” She pulled on his leather gear which, he realized now, probably looked like a poor attempt at armor to the battle-minded Viking.

“I know this looks bad...” he tried to placate. “But see...this is a...”

A movement in the shadows behind them made her gasp. She threw him to the ground and stepped over him, warily eyeing the foliage. 

Hiccup acted fast, hoping to distract her, praying Toothless wouldn’t show up. “Ah! You’re right! You’re right! You’re right! I’m...I’m through with the lies! I’ve been making...outfits! So...you got it me, it’s time everyone knew, drag me back.” She was ignoring him but he resolutely bobbed in front of her, even grabbing her hand and hoping she’d accept a fun pastime of grabbing his shirt and dragging him through the mud which most people seemed to find relaxing. “Here we go...!”

She took his hand and snapped it backward, turning his hard-won words into a scream of pain. 

“Why would you do that?” He gasped. 

She kicked him. “That’s for the lies.” She announced and bounced her ax haft off him. “And that’s...for everything else!”

A roar in front of them brought her up short. 

“Oh man.” Hiccup knew what was coming and wished he could just keep laying on the ground and it would all go away. But he tried to get up anyway, to let Toothless know he was ok. 

“Get down!” Astrid gasped, tackling him to the ground and quickly bouncing back to her feet, ready for a fight. Hiccup barely had time to grab her ax away from her before she swung at the lunging dragon. But his attack caught her off guard and was far more successful than he had hoped. 

Quickly turning from the girl he faced Toothless, fighting for his attention and making calming sounds. “It’s ok, it’s ok. She’s a friend.” 

Still growling, Toothless subsided. 

“You just scared him.” He tried to explain to Astrid as Toothless nudged him belligerently. 

“I. Scared. Him!” Astrid squeaked in fury. “Who is ’him’”

“Astrid, Toothless. Toothless, Astrid!” He tried to make a point to Toothless that good first impressions were currently crucial. 

Toothless snarled in her face. 

With a look of mixed anger and disbelief, Astrid took off. 

Hiccup watched her with the reassurance that the sick feeling in his stomach was completely justified. 

With a satisfied snort, Toothless waddled off. 

“Whoa, where do you think you’re going? We have to get out of here before she comes back!” Hiccup chased after the dragon but froze when an icy blast of air shook the forest around him. 

Knowing it was too good to be true, he turned to find Jack Frost perched on the same boulder Astrid had just been on, a cocky smile on his face. “Hey Hiccup, how’s it going?”

“You came...oh thank the gods, you came!” Hiccup ran over and considered hugging the boy but resigned himself to flopping against the boulder in relief. “I...I’m sorry...about last time but...I need help. I need to get out of here Jack, now!”

Jack’s grin faded and he nodded solemnly. “No problem and there’s no need to apologize Hiccup. It’s ok. How far do you need to get?”

“Another world would be nice.” He half-joked and then remembered his companion and felt his heart sink. “But...I need to bring him with me.”

Jack followed his gaze to where Toothless watched them warily. 

He stood up, wide-eyed, and let out a low whistle. “Night Fury. That’s incredible. You tamed him?”

Hiccup reddened at the praise and reached out to the dragon who sidled closer to be pet. “More like shot him down. There was a mutual not-killing and then...then I found him again and his tail was all messed up...when I saw what I’d done...I had to fix it.”

Jack nodded and looked over Toothless’s gear with open admiration. “That’s amazing Hiccup.” He suddenly frowned. “Did your Dad find out? Are you ok?”

“Well...yes and no it’s...it’s all a mess Jack. And Astrid’s on her way to sound the alarm so we probably don’t have a ton of time...”

“Right.” Jack waved his staff, sending icy explosions of light into the sky. 

Suddenly a giant, mechanical, yellow cat appeared in the sky. 

Hiccup’s jaw dropped. “That’s...that’s...” stories from his childhood filled his head, Jack’s stories.

Jack grinned broadly. “Yeah, I found my first Paladin. Hiccup, meet the Yellow Lion. Inside you’ll meet Paladin Tadashi Hamada.” 

The Lion landed and opened its mouth, revealing a gangplank that led to the rest of the ship. 

Hiccup stared. “Jack...I don’t know if I can...”

Jack placed a hand on his shoulder. “No need. I’m here to help. You don’t owe me anything. I came because you called, not to try to push into something you don’t feel ready for.”

Hiccup gulped, staring at the flying machine in awe. “Thanks but...if it’s all the same, I’d like to try.”

Jack’s eyes twinkled. “You sure?” You’ll definitely get it!”

Hiccup swallowed. The idea of being a paladin was daunting. But seeing the creature before him he knew he wouldn’t be able to live with himself if he turned the chance down. He nodded. 

Jack laughed and clapped his shoulder before shoving him forward into the waiting Lion’s mouth. 

Hiccup took one last look at the forest and realized he would actually miss Berk. He thought of his Dad and Astrid and then stopped letting himself think about anything. He called to Toothless and focused on getting inside.


	5. Chapter 5

A morning ride through the forest was freedom itself. The dew splashing up all around.

The pounding of hooves on the ground.

The rush of wind in her hair.

Pulling out her bow, she successfully hit each of the targets in her course.

Her horse took her to the fire falls.

She climbed up and dipped her hands in, feeling like she was soaring. 

And then she went home.

Walls rose up around her, people were everywhere. It was stifling and she felt that familiar itch developing under her arm that’s sole purpose was to remind her that her dress was still too tight. 

She slipped through the palace, seeing the usual sights and resenting every one of them. Life carried on as usual, how boring. Everyone in their roles and none of them knew what it felt like to fly. 

It was the middle of summer, a good time for solo adventures, but up in her room she could catch a chill breeze every once in a while and it made her long for winter and the friend that came with it. She leaned out the window, battling the breeze to inhale the summer scents. She would enjoy it while she could, she never really liked the cold itself anyways. 

“Merida!” 

A shriek escaped the girl as she was jerked back into her room by her belt. She stumbled backward and landed on her rump in the middle of the floor. Rubbing the offended spot, she glared up at her mother who towered over her.

“Where have you been? I’ve been waiting for hours!”

Merida rolled her eyes, knowing this was an exaggeration. “I was out.”

“Out!” Her mother exclaimed in disbelief. 

“Aye, out! Breathing a little! It gets so stuffy in here...”

“Merida! You have suitors coming today! You are to meet them tonight!” Her mother was almost screaming at this point. “And we haven’t even finished your dress!”

Merida glowered. “I didn’t ask for this! I don’t want to be presented and I don’t want any suitors!” 

“Well, it’s not about what you want! This is for the good of the clan. Stop being so selfish!”

“But Mum, I...”

“No! You listen to me! This is how it’s going to be so I suggest you get used to the idea and do it quickly!”

The seamstresses entered at that moment, causing mother and daughter to fall into silent brooding. 

The brooding continued on both sides for the rest of the day. 

That night, when the suitors from the neighboring clans arrived, Merida made sure to send a pointed look in her mother’s direction after each worthless introduction. None of the men were promising, kingly, or even vaguely interesting. 

Afterward, as her mother helped let her hair down, Merida tried again, feeling hopeful now that the prospects were so disappointing. “Sad lot there, eh?”

Her mother made a noncommittal noise. 

“Hardly the leader material type, eh?”

“Hardly.” Was the bitter murmur. 

Heart soaring, she took the plunge. “So...it maybe wouldn’t hurt to wait a while, say a few years, fish around a little more if you know what I mean?”

Her mother sighed wearily. “No, Merida. This is the way it has to be. I’m sorry.”

The helplessness with which she said it set a cold, hard, fury boiling in the pit of her stomach. So that was it? Tradition declared it so and that bound their fate into chains. She felt her breath shortening, the walls closing in. She shook her mother’s hands off and ripped the whole dress off. 

“Merida!” The Queen gasped in astonishment. 

Merida faced her, ready, eager, for an argument. 

But her mother only looked at her sadly, shook her head, and left the room.

There was nothing to fight about.

This was the way it had to be.

Gasping for air, Merida threw on her old clothes and rushed to the stables, she would have fled the castle if she could but the gates were locked. No, she just needed to get out of her room. She ran circles around the stable, screamed in her horse’s mane, and cried herself to sleep in the hay.


	6. Chapter 6

Sunlight in her eyes and the scent of horse woke her up. The morning was already half gone. Panic seized her as she realized that her Mother was going to have a fit.   
Jumping to her feet she raced up to her room where a cold bath and her Mother’s colder gaze awaited her.   
The day progressed like a downward slope and Merida, stuck in a dress she couldn’t move in, was forced to just roll down it.   
It was just after lunch when the archery tournament happened. It was the one thing she couldn’t sit still for.   
No dolt was going to buy her with her own tools.   
She stood up and grabbed her things. To be perfectly fair, she’d planned this all along. It sounded like the best way to end a ridiculous day, with a big performance and a bigger laugh after it.   
That’s what she told herself but it was fury and not humor that propelled her onto the field.   
And she won.   
For all the world to see, she won her own hand.   
Her mother fumed. 

“What did you think you were doing!” It wasn’t a question. It was just something to yell.   
Merida yelled back. Yes. This is what she wanted. Something to fight. Something she could beat against. Something she had the power to change.   
But her Mother was having none of it. “You will prepare yourself and come down at once! You will select a husband from one of the men down there tonight and that is final!” And she left.   
Merida stared at the closed door blankly. Something was tearing her apart from the inside out.   
“Fear,” her mind told her. “No, fear isn’t this big or terrible.” She thought. This was being lost in a darkness that you knew had no end, full of people who couldn’t help you.   
“Hey there Mer, how you doing? Looks like you’ve got quite a party going downstairs!”  
She stiffened. Disbelief, hope, fear of that hope, all colliding together in the collision of the year.   
Slowly she turned to see Jack Frost hovering outside her window.   
Jack.   
Jack, her best friend.   
Jack, who told her stories of heroes and freedom.   
Jack, who taught her how to fly.   
Jack, who cared.   
“What...what are you doing here?” She gasped, struggling not to cry.   
He shrugged non-commitaly and looked down then faced her with a seriousness she had never seen on him before. “Pitch is moving again, Merida. I’m gathering up the Paladins of Voltron. Will you join us?”  
“Me?” She didn’t understand.   
“Yes, I need you as a Paladin, Merida. I know you’ll be a perfect fit.”  
Unformed questions, a million protests, rang through her head.   
And then she thought of her mother abandoning her to tradition. Her mind quieted and solidified.   
“Yes.” She whispered.   
Jack looked surprised. “What?”  
“Yes! Yes, I’ll do it! Can we leave now?”  
Jack frowned. “Far be it from me to fight my own cause, but are you sure? I don’t know when you’ll be back...”  
“It’s this or I run away. I...can’t do it. I can’t just embrace tradition like they do!” She was frantically packing as she spoke. “I can’t marry a man I don’t know. And I can’t just sit there and look pretty! I have to do something!”  
Jack watched her worriedly for a moment and then nodded. “Alright. Meet me on the rampart wall in a half-hour.”  
She nodded and snatched up her quiver, counting the arrows inside. She wasn’t thinking about what she was doing, she might not be able to do it then. 

She slipped outside easily and made her way to the castle wall. It was empty as everyone was currently reveling inside, which was good because no one would have known what to do with the giant, metal monster that descended from the sky to hover over her.   
It’s mouth opened and Jack appeared inside. He smiled and held out his hand.   
Merida stood, frozen. It was terrifying. And what was she doing? Could she really leave her people, her brothers, her father, mother...  
“Merida!”   
She whipped around as her Mother’s scream tore through the dusk.   
They stared at each other, her mother framed in the golden light from the doorway, a look of horror on her face. Merida framed by darkness with tears in her eyes.   
Gritting her teeth she spun and grabbed Jack’s hand. He hauled her inside, the mouth closed, and they shot into the sky.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy New Year everyone! Thanks for sticking with me!

“Guys, Merida. Merida, the guys.” Jack gestured grandly.   
Sighing, Tadashi stood up and extended his hand. “I’m Tadashi Hamada. Nice to meet you, Merida.”  
The girl grinned and pumped his hand. “Yer self as well, Tadashi. Which one’s yours?”  
It took the man a moment to realize what she was asking. He pointed to the giant yellow lion that stood behind them in the hangar. “That one.”  
Merida nodded and turned her attention to the other group member who was still sitting in the middle of the room, shoveling soup from a bowl into his mouth. He noticed and waved. “Hi, I’m...Hiccup.”  
“Hiccup?”  
“Please don’t ask.”  
She raised her eyebrows but decided to save the jokes for later. “A pleasure then. Which one?”  
He gestured behind himself. “The Green one.”  
She nodded. “Right, the one we came in. That leaves black, blue, and red. Do you fly one Jack?” She queried the boy behind her.   
He shrugged. “Not exactly.”  
“What’s that mean?”  
He shrugged again.   
She wrinkled her nose. “Well, that’s unhelpful. How does this work then? Do I just pick one?”   
“Do you want to eat first?” Tadashi gestured to their small encampment in the middle of the metal hangar.   
“I’m not hungry yet. I want to know which is mine.” She quirked an eyebrow at Jack. “Well?”  
“The Lion has to pick you, but I’m a pretty good judge of character. I’d say try your luck with the red one first.” Jack nodded to the Lion that was front and center of the monstrous group in the back.   
Merida nodded and marched up to the creature. “Hoy there!”  
Jack grinned. He had considered telling her that this was the most difficult Lion to win over but decided against it. If anyone could win over the Red Lion by sheer force of will, it was Merida of DunBroch. He clapped Tadashi in the shoulder. “Have fun getting to know each other, I’ll be back in a bit.”  
“Are you going for the last Paladin?” Tadashi asked quietly.   
Jack smiled and took off, soaring out of the hangar.   
Tadashi has been on his case for a while about the last Paladin. Jack had let slip the two other names he knew and now the man suspected that Jack secretly lacked a Paladin.   
Which was true.   
But he didn’t need to worry about it. That was Jack’s job. These Paladins just needed to get used to each other while Jack tried to find two more, because, despite what his group may have assumed, Jack was no longer a Paladin. 

Soaring between worlds and through space on his own had grown to have its appeal, the first time had been done with horror and a mix of other unpleasant things he chose not to think about. Nowadays he found he enjoyed the experience of the calm and the quiet. It helped him think. And he really needed to think hard about his next steps.   
He needed two more Paladins.   
But he also needed to start training the ones he had   
But they couldn’t learn much without a complete team.   
But Pitch wasn’t waiting around for him to discover the next perfect match for the Lions. A lot of hard work and good luck had gone into finding these three. He couldn’t imagine being so lucky two more times.   
He slipped into a new solar system and saw a new planet.   
He stopped, staring, trying to remember seeing it before.   
And then he recognized Arlandrea, a planet he hadn’t visited in over a decade. But the planet was covered in dark splotches, whole continents gone dark.  
Pitch dark.   
Chest constricting with concern, he dove downwards, breaking the atmosphere above Arendelle, a small kingdom over a fjord.   
He found the entire kingdom covered in snow while the world around them bathed in summer.   
Jack hovered above the world, mind reeling a million miles an hour with question after question. Eventually, he began to think again.   
What had happened?  
Where had the snow come from?  
Could Pitch have done this?  
But only someone with Ice Magic could have done something this big. And in all his long life, the only ice magic Jack has ever seen had come from his village.   
Could someone have survived?  
Could Pitch have a prisoner?   
He couldn’t breathe properly as the possibilities crushed him. Slowly he descended into the snowy mountains.   
His feet were buried in the snow before he realized he was standing before a castle.   
It was a beautiful piece of architecture, carved flawlessly from ice.   
No.   
His fingers touched it and confirmed what he already knew.   
This was Ice Magic. Just like his.   
His lungs sucked in air they didn’t need.   
Slowly, carefully, unwillingly, he went inside, following the stairs that beckoned him in and up, arriving at last in a grand chamber where a lone figure sat on the floor.   
The girl saw him and gasped, lunging to her feet and stumbling away from him. “I...I don’t know who you are but you need to leave! Now!”  
Jack was stunned. He knew this woman. No, he had known her, once, as a little girl. “Elsa?”  
She bit her lip and took another step back. “I don’t know your grievance but...but I didn't mean to hurt anyone. Please leave, if you return now, Princess Ana can help you...”  
“Elsa, it’s me, Jack Frost.”  
She stopped talking, staring at him blankly.   
Jack held out his hand and gathered fragments of ice and snow into the shape of a tiny snowman. “Remember? We used to play together when you were little.”  
“Jack...” Shock, fear, astonishment, and relief chased themselves across her face before she burst into tears.   
Jack moved close enough to place a hand on her shoulder. “Do you remember me?”  
“I do! I...I thought you were a dream! I thought I had just dreamed that...that there was someone else...like me!”  
“What do you mean ‘like you,’ Elsa?”  
She fought her sobs and scrubbed her eyes before holding out her hand.   
Snow and ice gathered together to create an imitation of Jack’s snowman.   
Jack stared in awe. “How long have you been able to do that?”  
Elsa, still scrubbing her eyes, shook her head. “I don’t know. Always I think. It’s just something I could do. I...I hurt my sister when we were little. I thought it was a curse and I tried to hide it but...but I couldn’t and now everyone knows. So I came here, where there was no one to care, no one to hurt.”  
Jack’s heart broke for her. Coming into one’s magic was a terrifying process. The whole village used to work together to encourage and train children in their gifts. The magic was so strong it could manifest in dangerous ways if not properly cared for. Trying to suppress such power for years would have been traumatizing. “I’m so sorry, Elsa. I would never have left if I’d known.”  
She sniffled a little and shrugged. “I don’t suppose there was much you could do.”  
“But I could have!” He was kicking himself for not returning earlier, for not knowing sooner. “I could have taught you, helped learn to control it!” He took a deep breath and calmed himself. “I still can, if you want.”  
Her eyes went wide. “What?”  
“I can still help you if you’re interested. I can take you somewhere you don’t need to worry about others and I can help you learn how to really be in control of the magic.”  
She gripped his arm in a deathlock. “You can do that?”  
He nodded and placed his hand over hers. “Want to come with me?”  
She nodded emphatically. “Yes! Oh yes, please, Jack!”  
He grinned.


	8. Chapter 8

It had been a little tricky shaping a capsule, made entirely of ice, that could hold air and not break while going through the atmosphere, but he eventually figured it out and was grateful he didn’t have to worry about her freezing. 

A few hours later, Jack and Elsa landed in the solitary hangar floating in space. 

The other Paladins were asleep near the Lions, which Jack was also grateful for as it meant he didn’t need to explain Elsa’s presence yet. He flashed his passenger a smile as she took in her surroundings. “You’ll be safe here. We can figure things out tomorrow. Get some sleep ok?”

She nodded and then walked away from the group huddled on the floor, enclosing herself in a box of ice without a door. 

Jack sat outside and stared at the box, wondering how this was possible. Had there been other wielders of Ice Magic on different planets? While possible, he had never heard of such a thing. So many emotions threatened him. It had been a long time since he’d remembered his village. 

Standing he walked over to where the Lions were gathered and faced Blue.

Boy and Lion stared at each other for a long moment. 

“Why won’t you let me in?” Jack leaned his head against the Lion’s paw wearily. “What am I supposed to do?”

Morning in space didn’t include the sun coming up. It did include Jack turning on the hangar lights and cheerily calling his Paladins awake, which they did not find amusing. 

“Good morning everyone!” He called. “I hope you slept well cause it’s time to start training. But first, allow me to introduce you to our guest, Princess Elsa of Arendelle of the planet Arlandrea, which means nothing to you lot but it will in time.” He gestured grandly to the girl beside him who nodded hesitantly. 

“Pleasure to meet ya’. Names Merida. Are you a new Paladin?” Merida stepped forward and pumped the girl’s arm. 

“Um...I’m...” Elsa stuttered for words while desperately trying to extract herself. 

“She’s here for different reasons.” Jack pulled them apart. “Elsa, this is Tadashi Hamada and Hiccup Haddock.”

“A pleasure to meet you.” Elsa nodded again. 

The boys returned the gesture awkwardly. 

“Alright, time to suit up and get going!” Jack clapped and set the group scrambling for something to eat before moving out. He winked at Elsa who stood outside the fray. 

She cocked a curious eyebrow at him as he disappeared for a moment only to reappear with a fully prepared tray of food. 

“Enjoy. I’ll be back once I’ve got them set doing some drills. Then we’ll see what we can do about your magic.”

She blinked in wonder and then smiled softly. “Thank you, Jack. I really appreciate it.”

He waved her thanks aside. “Don’t mention it.” 

Three colorful Lions hovered in Space while Jack floated around them, pre-ambling the exercises with tips for better steering and maintenance. 

Once he had satisfied himself that they were as ready as they’d ever be, he had them fly in circles around the hangar. 

Tadashi was slow but sure and he flew in smooth, even circles. 

Hiccup tended to dart around but generally kept a steady pace. 

Merida was all over the place. 

“Merida,” Jack sighed as her scream echoed through the coms while she rolled out into space again. “You’ve got to get it under control. Stop fighting the Lion, work with it.”

“What does that mean?” She howled as she flipped upside down. 

He sighed again as Tadashi and Hiccup attempted to explain. 

Elsa had been willing to just sit in the hangar but then she saw that Jack had left one of Lions open. It was cozier inside and she could hear and watch everything on the windows. She was fascinated by the magic that made it work and poked around carefully, trying to understand it. 

Suddenly, the Lion stood up and started walking. 

She screamed and tried to make it stop. 

Instead, it started running. 

Before she knew what was happening the Lion had flung them out of the hangar into space. 

Jack couldn’t believe what he was seeing. 

The Blue Lion had just leapt out of the hangar. 

For a moment his heart soared. Was it finally coming for him? Then he heard the screaming. 

“Elsa!” The voice from the front of the Lion snapped Elsa to attention. 

“Jack! I don’t know what happened!” She cried. 

“Elsa, sit down in the pilot’s seat. Strap yourself in and grab onto the handles.”

Elsa cast about in her seat and found the straps, fumbled to connect them, and then grabbed the only handles she could reach. 

Her eyes widened. 

She could hear the lion speaking to her, reassuring her, telling her how to work the controls. 

Following the instructions, she twisted the handles and shot upwards. 

Jack watched breathlessly as Elsa’s wild careening suddenly took on a controlled movement and she spun in circles around the others. She was a natural talent. 

And now he had four Paladins. This was beyond luck. It had to be fate. 

Any jealousy he felt died as he began to hope again that maybe, just maybe they might have a chance against Pitch. 

Merida’s scream brought him back to the present moment and he sighed. They still had a long way to go first. 


	9. Chapter 9

“Hiccup, bank left and check out that asteroid belt below Merida,” Tadashi ordered over the intercom.   
“Roger.” The Green Lion dipped out of formation smoothly.   
“Merida, scout ahead. See if you can pick up any activity outside our range.”  
“Roger that Tad!” The Red Lion performed a cheeky somersault before shooting off above their heads.   
“Elsa, follow me, we’re going through the debris. I’ll go ahead and clear a path. Watch my back.”  
“Understood.” The Blue Lion obediently dropped into place behind him as they changed course.   
“No sign of life except for the usual,” Merida reported over the coms.   
“Nothing out of the ordinary for the asteroid belt. Its rotations are pretty normal. Should be relatively safe getting through if you lead the way, Tadashi.” Hiccup’s report followed shortly after.   
“Alright, everyone, fall in behind me, Hiccup then Merida. Elsa, continue bringing up the rear.”  
“Roger!” Three voices replied in unison.   
“Well done team! Things are looking pretty good from where I’m sitting!” Jack laughed over the intercom.   
“That’s nice.” Merida yawned. “I wanna finish up with this stuff soon. I miss my bed.”  
“You’ve only been awake for an hour.” Elsa chuckled.   
“An hour too long.”  
“Stay focused team, we’re going in,” Tadashi called them back to the task at hand. 

Jack watched the group move deftly through the asteroid belt and smiled fondly. In the months they had been working together they had grown so much. They were doing so well. He tossed a couple flakes in the air, activating the robots by his head as he did so. They weren’t quite up to spec with the ones he had trained with, but they’d do. 

“Tadashi! We have incoming fire!” Elsa shouted through the coms, destroying the focused silence.   
Chaos erupted.   
“Where is it?” Merida shouted.   
“Right! Everyone bank up or down, don’t go left!” Hiccup yelled.   
“Darn it, Jack!” Tadashi shouted.   
The Lions scrambled out of the way as fire and ice ripped through the belt of rocks, throwing them haphazardly through space with the force of the aftershocks.   
Jack chuckled as he watched them react. They had gotten so much better but there was still that initial scramble every time. That could be deadly. A nagging fear asked if they would ever be ready for war and if he really wanted that for them. They were just kids. He stuffed it down. They didn’t have a choice. That’s how war worked. 

Breathless and battered, the team regrouped in the hangar.   
“Pretty well done. I have a couple notes though.” Jack announced as he landed beside them.   
Merida groaned and flopped to the ground.   
Tadashi and Elsa came to look at what Jack had written in his book while a Hiccup helped Merida to her feet.   
After a quick debriefing, they all split. Tadashi left to get to work in the kitchen, recent discoveries proving he was the only one who knew how to cook and the only way they’d ever get a decent meal.   
Merida tagged along behind Hiccup to go check in on Toothless who had free reign of the hangar.   
Elsa stayed with Jack who was teaching her how to control her abilities. This had grown drastically easier once she had figured out how to channel her Ice Magic through the Blue Lion which was very accepting of the ability. Not only did this give her a controlled outlet but it boosted her confidence, which made learning so much easier.   
Jack’s silent timer went off and he called them together for dinner. He tried to keep them on something resembling a 24-hour schedule so they wouldn’t be totally thrown off when they eventually reentered a planet.   
They were just sitting down when something started beeping loudly behind them.  
“Hicc, I think ya’ forgot to turn the timey off.”  
“Timer and that’s not it.” Hiccup jumped up and hurried over to where his makeshift room was.   
Toothless was perched on a monitor full of swirling bleeping things that couldn’t decide if they were electric or not. Hiccup’s love for invention had flourished with the technology he was now exposed to and Jack made sure to keep him supplied with plenty of gadgets and tools as most of these inventions were turning out to be useful.   
“It’s my tracker. I set it up a couple weeks ago. It searches for...a lot of things.”  
Jack joined him. “And it’s found something?”  
“Yeah. Something hot moving quickly through space.”   
“Galra!” Merida cried hopefully, leaping to her feet.   
Jack looked back at them all.   
Tadashi and Elsa were watching him with worried looks.   
Were they ready for this?   
Was he?  
“Paladins, suit up!” He ordered.   
Without hesitation, the group rushed for their Lions.


	10. Chapter 10

“Stay low on their tail but out of scanner range. We don’t want to engage if we don’t have to.” Jack instructed the Paladins as he soared ahead of them. 

No Galra ship had ever come to this part of space and the implications this one brought were nerve-wracking. Had Pitch found them out? They weren’t ready to engage yet. They were still missing a Paladin for the Black Lion... But the ships passed their base, skimming farther out into the darkness. 

“Where are they going?” Tadashi voiced the leading question over the intercoms. 

“I don’t know.” Jack couldn’t hide the tension in his voice. 

The silence afterward shouted their fear louder than any voice could have. 

He couldn’t deal with this right now, they needed to learn how to function on their own. “I’m going scouting ahead, follow from behind, Tadashi, detail formation.”

Tadashi’s “Roger” was lost on him as Jack sped past them all, catching up with Galra as they entered a place he’d never been before. 

Space was vast and Jack knew there was plenty even he had never experienced before, but you don’t get to be around a thousand years old and not know your own backyard. They were only a couple mile’s flight from his base. 

He understood as the ships slowed down and disappeared right in front of him. 

A pocket dimension, of course. 

“Team” his voice came through the coms suddenly, and they all heard Merida scream in reply. 

Jack ignored her. “Hold your positions. There’s a pocket dimension. I’ll scout it out and report back.”

“Understood,” came a unison of replies plus some grumbling from Merida. 

“If I’m not back in an hour, or if the Galra come first, go home. Do not engage, understood?”

An uncomfortable silence. 

“Understood?”

“Jack...maybe someone should go with you...I...” 

Jack cut Elsa off, they really didn’t have time for this. “UNDERSTOOD?”

“Understood,” three reluctant replies, Tadashi didn’t answer. 

But Jack was already moving. A brief crackle over the coms told him communication was lost as he entered the pocket. 

For a moment everything was dark, and then, there was light, more than he was used to out here. 

He paused, waiting for his sight to adjust. 

All around him floated rubble, the remains of a tiny world, hovering motionless around a small sun. 

Something twisted in Jack’s gut. 

He’d seen plenty of dead worlds in his time, but few that reminded him so much of home. 

He looked to the ships. They were trying to capture the sun. 

Jack could only imagine what they’d do with that sort of compact power. 

Shooting forward, he blasted the two ships closest to him with ice, effectively shutting off their power. The last two went dead a minute later. The crew would be so focused on trying to get the power back on, which wouldn’t work, that they wouldn’t notice him. 

Shooting ahead, he braced himself to blast the sun to smithereens once he was in range but...the heat never came. He got right up next to it but there was nothing, just the purest golden glow he’d ever seen. 

Slowly, he reached out. 

Soft tendrils of light bent beneath his hand and tangled around his fingers. Magic pulsed through him. He hadn’t felt magic like this before. 

He pressed into the very core, the light broke apart, letting him into the hollow sphere...or at least, almost hollow. Inside, his hand found another hand. 

He grabbed hold and pulled. 

The light surrounding the body dispersed and he found himself holding a girl in a purple dress. She was unconscious...actually, he couldn’t even tell if she was alive. But he thought that she was because the magic was coming from her, or, more accurately, her yards and yards of shining hair. 

“He’s only got fifteen minutes left,” Elsa murmured over the coms. 

“Ah, blast it all! We should be going in after him!” Merida shouted. 

“Tadashi...” Hiccup’s questioning tone brought the team’s focus to their leader. 

Tadashi took a deep breath and looked at the picture of Hiro he had taped to the control panel. It reminded him why he was there. “We wait until the hour’s up...then we go in after him.”

“Roger!” Hiccup and Elsa responded eagerly while Merida whooped loudly. 

The clocks on their screens counted down, winding the tension in the air up to breaking point. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for sticking with me so far guys! I only have one or two parts left so look forward to them sometime in the (hopefully near) future!


End file.
